Vicenza Culture

Palladio is the city's identity in a way few architects are anywhere. Streets, the theatre, the museum and the main thoroughfare carry his name, and the local architectural institute that studies him draws scholars from around the world. It would be easy for this to feel like a theme, and it doesn't, largely because the buildings are still in ordinary use.

Goldsmithing is the other half and by far the larger employer. Vicenza has worked precious metal since the Middle Ages and is now among the biggest gold-manufacturing centres in Europe; Vicenzaoro, its international trade fair, is a fixture of the global jewellery calendar. Much of this happens in workshops rather than shopfronts, so it is easy to miss entirely.

The food is distinctive and unfashionable in the best way. Baccalà alla vicentina -- stockfish stewed slowly with onions, milk and cheese -- is the city's dish, defended by a dedicated confraternity, and served with polenta rather than anything else. The wines are from Breganze and the Berici hills rather than the more famous Veneto names.